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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23262091">Mystery Of Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamamiwhoami/pseuds/iamamiwhoami'>iamamiwhoami</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AgentCorp, Alternate Universe, Cats, Conversations, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Falling In Love, First Dates, Fluff, Light Angst, Pets, Sufjan Stevens - Freeform, so. much. fluff., supergirl - Freeform, taking care</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:27:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,487</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23262091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamamiwhoami/pseuds/iamamiwhoami</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Some may say that love dwells in the stars, across galaxies, unattainable and ethereal. Others may say that love is made in the underworld of simple things, mundane and humble. For Lena Luthor, however, trying to deal with a period of mourning, perhaps love is hidden in the most unpredictable of places.</p><p>Like a cozy animal shelter in the suburbs of the city.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Danvers/Lena Luthor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>114</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Mystery Of Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Someone special granted me this plot and I can't thank enough for how happy it made me. V, you are a star on my journey.</p><p>Guys... So much fluff. I loved writing this and I hope you enjoy it.</p><p>Deliberately inspired by "Mystery of Love", Sufjan Stevens.</p><p>Wish you a good reading. :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Lena stared at the small red wooden gate, the vast green lawn and the stone path to the brick building. For a moment it looked like an ordinary house, but the barking in the backyard and the large carved sign showing "animal shelter" did not allow her to turn around with the excuse of not having found the correct address, especially when a couple of children came running in with a bag of tennis balls hanging from their shoulders.</p><p>She had already gone through the process of asking herself if she should do it. When Sam suggested she adopt a puppy a while ago, promising that it would become the best company in the world for her and a way to find pure joy after her father passed away almost ten months ago, it seemed absurd. But standing there, in front of the simple refuge, she had already gotten used to the idea and convinced herself to take a shot.</p><p>She entered through the gate like an explorer in an unfamiliar land, her high heels sinking into the boulders of the trail. She thought she should have gone in comfortable clothes, but after all it is not every day that you leave a conference with european investors and drive straight to an animal shelter.</p><p>Lionel Luthor hated pets.</p><p>But then, he didn't like many things besides italian suits, brandy and good publicity.</p><p>The lot was bigger than it looked, reaching the back street on a huge open property. The children running past her were throwing tennis balls and applauding the awkward performance of an adorable foxhound and in the wide stalls around the edges there were the most varied dogs releasing sounds, as well as a large oak tree in the middle of the lawn filled with free birds. The animals agitated in her presence, as if asking for attention, and she had no idea how to proceed.</p><p>"You can get close. Oddly enough, they don't bite."</p><p>The amused voice rang in her ears and she turned to find a woman with short red hair, baggy sweater and combat boots coming out of the brick house with a bag of doggy biscuits.</p><p>"Are you sure?" Lena pointed subtly at a small mongrel biting the bay bars weakly.</p><p>"Oh, not that one." The woman wrinkled her nose and continued to play. "That is definitely a danger to society."</p><p>Lena couldn't help but laugh. "Those are really impressive fangs."</p><p>The woman laughed with her and came over for a handshake. "Alex Danvers. The guardian of these little beasts."</p><p>"Lena Luthor." Lena smiled cordially.</p><p>"So, Miss Luthor..." She placed the bag of biscuits on the lawn and clapped her hands, gesturing around. "Who will be the lucky one who will ruin your expensive suit this afternoon?"</p><p>Lena remembered how she went straight from L-Corp to the shelter and blushed for an instant, feeling foolish by the impulse in her stylish clothes. She even thought that she could scare the poor animals with the absurd french perfume exhaling.</p><p>"Hey..." The redhead manifested herself again, scratching the back of her neck. "Sorry. Don't mind what I say. I can exaggerate sometimes, I just want the little ones to be adopted and get a safe home."</p><p>"Please." Lena waved. "You have a lovely place, they are lovely."</p><p>"This mean I can introduce you to the possible grim that will ruin your expensive suit?" She played again, biting her lower lip, and she seemed to Lena as adorable as the animals.</p><p>"By all means." Lena smiled at her again and she had already forgotten about her inappropriate look for the occasion.</p><p>Alex guided her through the stalls with a radiant smile, proud of the past compliment. She had been taking care of some of those companions since they were just puppies abandoned in boxes or garbage cans and any new face, elegant or simple, was welcome in the haven she created for them.</p><p>Who better than a vet to find time to have their own animal shelter?</p><p>Lena found her even more adorable when she started the introductions. There were so many of them and they all waved their tails and displayed their tongues in greeting, receiving biscuits and caresses from Alex. She seemed to know each one of them, even those who had no name yet. They all had a different story, from a mongrel she rescued from a frozen lake to an elderly terripoo abandoned on the side of a road.</p><p>She was trying not to despair internally while the redhead happily introduced her canine friends, until she saw a darker stall than the others, right at the edge of the lot, where there was no dog, but a small kitten huddled in the background . He was kind of orange and full of brown stripes, immobile and silent.</p><p>"I didn't know you had cats here." She observed, making Alex stop the explanation about a drooling bulldog who loved to eat peanuts.</p><p>"I don't get many." Alex smiled almost sadly. "That's the only one, arrived just a few weeks ago."</p><p>"Is there a story?" Lena did not know why she had been captured by the small shape almost hidden in the stall, but it inexplicably touched some rope in her heart.</p><p>"Well..." Alex sighed, crossing her arms. "My sister brought him. She said she heard strange noises from one of the neighbors in her building one night and decided to investigate, she is a great journalist." She shrugged, the sorrow clear in her voice. "It turns out that there was this completely crazy guy who threw hot oil in his cat's eyes. He was blinded by one, we couldn't save both. But my sister rescued him and unfortunately she only managed to get the guy to do community service and pay a high fine. At least it was something."</p><p>All the strings tightened inside Lena at once. She was known to be a visionary who perfected practicality and human evolution, but she had never stopped to think about how probably all those animals in the shelter and all the others lost in a cruel world suffered at the hands of humans.</p><p>"May I...?" Lena almost whispered, letting her purse slide from her shoulder onto the lawn. "Can I see him?" She looked at Alex expectantly, some kind of childish fear.</p><p>The smile that the redhead opened, however, finally made her relax. "Of course you can."</p><p>Alex entered the stall slowly, no sudden movement or loud sound. She knelt down and stroked the cat's back, its hair ruffling, and it hissed even more huddled, until she murmured some sweet words, as if talking to a shy child, taking it cuddled up in her arms and bringing it into the light, orange and brown standing out in the light afternoon sun. Lena looked at it with compassion and an affection that she couldn't understand. The hairs had grown where its missing eye should have been, closing the reddish scar, as if it was just winking at her, its muzzle and sharp mustaches capturing everything it couldn't fully see.</p><p>"He is adorable." It was all she could say.</p><p>"You can touch him." Alex encouraged. "You know, cats are very clever. They know people's intentions. He must have been trapped and mistreated by that bastard in that apartment, or else he would have run away, I'm sure. It was hard to get him to trust me, but my sister helped a lot. It takes patience."</p><p>Lena nodded without looking at her, admiring the orange little thing. She tried to be cautious, she hadn't touched any of the animals that Alex presented to her, but suddenly she was lifting her hand, hovering for an instant on the cat's back, its head moving in alert with the sensation at the around.</p><p>It was strange, the reluctance. As if she feared the rejection of the animal.</p><p>Alex seemed to understand, a lovely creature she was showing off, and she just held the cat on her left arm and placed her right hand on Lena's trembling, finally making her touch the soft fur. And Lena thought it was going to hiss or growl at her, but it just purred immediately and its tail rippled up, its little head falling into the fold of Alex's arm and its good, beautiful green eye squeezing sweetly.</p><p>"Hello, little one." Lena inevitably exhaled a chuckled laugh, getting used to the warm sensation under her palm.</p><p>"He likes you." Alex laughed with the same emotion. "Hey, buddy." She gently rocked it on her arm. "You like Lena?"</p><p>It purred again and Lena convinced herself that it was a kind of answer.</p><p>"I like you too, little one." Lena smiled at it, delighted, caught in the moment.</p><p>She didn't even notice how Alex Danvers smiled at her with the same delight.</p><p>"Lena." The redhead called softly, their eyes meeting on the way. "He needs a home. I can't tell you it's easy, but he has been a fighter and he could use some love now."</p><p>Lena realized that she had forgotten. She forgot the urge to drive there straight from work, she forgot that part of that decision was mourning for Lionel, all the hesitation that troubled her mind about adopting a life to care for had disappeared in the purr of the one-eyed kitten.</p><p>
  <em>Some love.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>She watched silently as the redhead helped her accommodate her new companion in the car, listening carefully to the first-time basic instructions and directions. Alex didn’t even laugh at her when she ran out of half the stock at the shelter’s little shop and bought an absurd amount of food, bowls, a big litter box, a hanging bed after the redhead mentioned that it liked sleeping in her hammock sometimes, plush and teaser toys, a scratcher, an exercise wheel and all the weird types of brushes.</p><p>When Alex put the small cage and waved goodbye to it, she closed the door and leaned back in the black bentley, hands in the tight pockets of her distressed jeans, waiting for Lena to finish signing the adoption, intrigued by the furrowed furrow on her forehead, as if she was worried and lost in her thoughts.</p><p>"So..." The redhead whistled. "What is your story?"</p><p>Lena looked up from the paper wide-eyed, surprised by the softness found in those greenish-brown eyes. It didn't make sense immediately, but there was such an expectation and at the same time so casual that it reminded her that Alex kept the stories of all those animals. "I beg your pardon?"</p><p>"Your story." Alex smiled. "Why did you decide to adopt a four-legged companion?"</p><p>Lena frowned and felt herself shrink, all her defenses rising like a fortress. "Is this a standard question from your shelter?"</p><p>Immediately regret hit her. Alex was being nothing but kind and, to be quite fair, she didn't really look like the type who stumbled upon a suburban animal shelter for any reason.</p><p>Surprisingly, Alex just smiled and shrugged, walking away from the car back through the red gate, carefully taking the document from her hand, closing the gate and tilting her head, Lena watching her tense outside. "I guess I just liked you." She sounded so casually that it made Lena blush. "Take good care of him and yourself, Miss Luthor."</p><p>She left quickly to answer the call of one of the children who was still on the lawn, the two of them fighting over the bag of doggy biscuits she had left behind on the tour with Lena across the grounds.</p><p>Lena, on the other hand, was standing there, stunned by the outspoken statement. She swallowed, walking to get into the car and freeze again, staring at the windshield reflecting the afternoon sun, the car's silence making her sink into the driver's seat and sigh audibly. It seemed that she would stay there for the rest of the day, until an impatient meow sounded whining.</p><p>She looked to the side and down to find the cat staring at her, meowing again, as if it were genuinely curious. With just one eye it seemed to be watching everything around, capturing everything and trying to communicate with her through its sounds.</p><p>"Can you believe her?" Lena finally spoke to it, sighing again with her mouth open. "Could she have said what she said?"</p><p>It meowed a third time, looking impatient again, and she straightened up on the bench and turned the key, back to downtown and her apartment, red hair and an amused smile rolling across her head, without noticing that the owner of the shelter watched discreetly until the car disappeared at the next turn.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Alex spent the rest of the day picturing the same woman in her mind. She cleared the stalls thinking about her, fed the animals thinking about her, went out to buy beer and drank the entire crate alone, throwing fries up and trying to catch it with her mouth while listening to some silly police show on television, thinking about her. She even stayed awake staring at the ceiling thinking about her. It was indisputably absurd and unacceptable.</p><p>In the first hours she thought it was because the woman was too beautiful, but then she realized she was intrigued, she wanted to know what her story was, she wanted to know something besides her famous name, a fame that she thought it best not to mention when she heard it. She knew that Lionel Luthor had passed away almost a year ago and their children inherited everything, including Metropolis and National City companies, which explained why she appeared in the shelter all pompous and elegant. But there was a sadness in those dazzling eyes and Alex wondered if it was a mourning that she hadn't left yet.</p><p>She could relate.</p><p>Three years ago she created the animal shelter because her father, the best and most thoughtful doctor she has ever met and a dog lover, died in a car accident. The same reason why her sister started a charity work as an investigative journalist against the injustice of the system for poor families. Everyone found their own cures through change.</p><p>If Lena Luthor was like her, she could only hope that the adorable one-eyed kitten would do her good. After all, it's not like a woman like that was going to stop by to visit that place in the suburbs again.</p><p>Alex sighed, closed her eyes and forced herself to forget.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The first moment was... Strange, to say the least. For the rest of the afternoon the cat explored the apartment as a patroller discovering new lands, a little bit like Lena on the shelter, sniffing out everything he could, tilting his little head, scratching the shiny wooden floor, almost knocking over a set of crystal vases and rolling lazily over the carpet by the hearth, all while Lena dragged things inside with the help of one of the friendly porters, who was amused to see the imposing Miss Luthor at the mercy of a small one-eyed kitten.</p><p>But then the days started to pass and Lena realized how easy it was to get used to his presence. Although curious, he behaved like a gentleman. She thought that a traumatized animal would show, like some people, destructive patterns by stress or hurt, but he just smelled everything, meowed asking her to caress him and, she noticed, suddenly in love, that he liked watching the night from the balcony door, making her take notes mentally to put some protection on so he could stay outside in the fresh air.</p><p>She started to bring more work home, abandoned the countless hours holed up at L-Corp, learning to appreciate the apartment that was supposed to be her home, and suddenly it felt like having a roommate, like she had Sam in college, but a friend more eager, silent and observant.</p><p>Above all, everything looked different. He filled in empty spaces inside her, but it had nothing to do with her father. She knew responsibility, because being born in the Luthor family required premature responsibility. She also knew care, because even though she was the youngest, she always looked out for her older brother. She also knew how to share, she shared everything with Sam back to college.</p><p>But that new agreement, the one-eyed little cat, blossomed new perspectives of responsibility, care and sharing. It was about having a life growing up, learning and playing around it, a company without judgments or reprimands, an innocent thing that deserved to be protected.</p><p>And what she found most interesting: It changed her loneliness without forcing. It was as if they became two loners living in the same environment, each in their own existence, but always with each other. She would arrive from an exhausting day, open the door and he would be there, in the lobby of the apartment, his tail wagging gently, as if he had been waiting for her for a long time.</p><p>It wasn't until a day when it was getting too late, the night devouring the dusk on the horizon, that she decided to take home an old prototype that needed repairs to work and be renovated soon, that the dynamics changed and she stumbled on the first challenge.</p><p>She was sitting in the apartment's makeshift office, her glass of wine forgotten on the desk, her body leaning on the counter and the prototype dismantled underthe focus of the lamp, the tools scattered around and fluids staining her hands. The one-eyed little cat was on the desk, sniffing the wine and hissing at it, watching her from afar. He used to watch her and she didn’t mind. She actually liked it.</p><p>When she disassembled the last gear and the synthetic oil from the compartment spread on her arms and clothes, making her get up quickly and snort, raising her arms in discontent, the sound echoed and her eyes widened, rising her head to find the source.</p><p>The one-eyed cat jumped off the desk, knocking over the wine glass, the shards flying around, and he huddled over the chair to hiss and to yowl, his hair stood on end, his eye glazed and his nails scratched the floor. Lena looked at him in terror as he squirmed as if in pain. She tried to get closer, but he backed away, huddling against the wall, hiding.</p><p>"What is it, little one?" She didn't expect it to hurt to see him like that.</p><p>He had grown accustomed to running to her when she spoke to him, sliding under her fingers to be petted, but the call just made him squirm in a furry ball, trapped on the wall under the desk, shaking with fear.</p><p>Lena looked at herself and reality hit her. Dizzy, she let herself fall back on the chair, the first tears welling up on her eyelids, and dialed the forgotten number on her cell phone, the one she got one afternoon from the shelter paperwork.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Alex Danvers was on a date. A disaster, to be more exact and fair. She hated the chic french food and the restaurant full of bizarre old men with too young girls, and especially the too much political talk that her date was babbling for what seemed like hours. She should have known better than to let her sister set up one of her fiancee's friends to go out with her.</p><p>She was about to find a dishonorable excuse to run away when her cell phone rang in her jacket pocket and she promptly answered despite the unknown number, asking the chatty woman for a minute.</p><p>"Danvers." She murmured, frowning.</p><p>A sigh crossed the line. <em>"Alex!"</em> The exclamation almost hurt her ear.</p><p>Alex's eyes widened. She didn't know why, but she recognized that voice immediately, the disgusting mouclade charentaise churning in her stomach. And she almost smiled, were it not for despair in tone.</p><p>"Lena?" She apologized with a gesture and got up from the table, leaving for the quiet lobby. "Lena, are you okay?"</p><p><em>"Something happened to him."</em> Lena sniffed on the other side and the redhead knew she was crying. <em>"The cat."</em></p><p>A strange determination ignited in Alex's head. She could ask what the problem was or advise her to see a vet near where she was. But she waved a waiter to fetch her motorcycle keys and took a breath. "Text me your address."</p><p>Her date didn't seem to bother. She smiled as Alex chanted a thousand apologies, helping her put on her coat, paying the taxi driver in advance. She was probably just as uncomfortable as the redhead, which was a relief, because neither promised to reschedule. She jumped on the motorcycle, put on her helmet and sped through the night towards downtown.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The apartment was dark when Alex cautiously entered. She looked around the imulinated kitchen only on the marble island, crossed the living room to be lit only by the few stars and moonlight through the large windows and searched silently, trying not to invade Lena's space. In the hallway, the light coming from the office made her move quickly, leaning on the door to check.</p><p>There she was. Lena Luthor on the floor, knees tight on her chest, stained hands hugging her own body, tears streaming down her reddened face and her beautiful green eyes fixed on the other edge of the room.</p><p>"Lena..." Alex sighed, worried.</p><p>Lena recognized her presence for a moment, turning back to face the corner, her lips trembling trying to open for her to speak.</p><p>Alex understood immediately and crouched down to find the cat squeaky hoarse, shivering as much as his owner.</p><p>"The oil..." Lena whispered weakly. "I think he smelled it. I didn't realize it until it was too late. I didn't want to..."</p><p>"Of course, you didn't want to." Alex reassured her with a sympathetic smile. "Can you do something for me?"</p><p>Lena nodded like a frightened child and Alex wanted to run to take her in her arms and promise that everything would be fine soon. "Y-yes..."</p><p>"Take a shower." She guided calmly. "Take a shower and meet me in your living room."</p><p>"But he..." Lena looked tearfully at the shrunken cat again.</p><p>"He'll be fine. I promise. The first step is to clean you up. I'll take care of him, close this room and we'll both be waiting for you in your living room."</p><p>Lena nodded, getting up and leaving as quickly as she could, hurt and internally furious with herself for her carelessness and helplessness, just in time to see Alex stretch her hand under the desk and start talking softly to the one-eyed kitten.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The warm water fell on her body and she closed her eyes in torment. She felt disgusting and silly, aggressively washing away the synthetic oil stained on her skin. Everything was going well until she was careless and triggered the worst experience in the little animal that grew and rekindled inside her heart. She passed the loofah, reddened her hands, it hurt. She bathed in lotions and soap, unable to calm herself, intensifying the anguish of having to turn to Alex as if she were a stupid incapable little girl.</p><p>Alex Danvers. Lena finally thought about how she appeared, her hair perfectly aligned, her shiny leather jacket, her new sweater, her polished boots. She was probably having a nice night and Lena just pulled her out of her comfort to ask her to save her.</p><p>
  <em>Pathetic.</em>
</p><p>Even more pathetic was she being afraid to walk into her own apartment. She groped in the darkness of the hallway, staring darkly at the closed office door, reluctant to reach the living room, wondering if she had ruined the one-eyed kitten's progress and peace and Alex would have to take him away.</p><p>It was ghastly. She didn't know if she could handle if this happened.</p><p>And she was Lena Luthor. She could handle anything. But it broke her heart just to think about losing him. Even more terrifying, and she would never dare say it out loud and not even to herself in thought, than to have lost Lionel months ago.</p><p>Once she emerged down the hallway and found Alex in the living room, sitting on the couch, the leather jacket left by the side, snooping on one of her books on the coffee table, the world took its turn again. She just sighed and Alex lifted her head to recognize her, and suddenly the cat ran under the redhead's legs, straight at her, making her almost retreat a step, but pinning her to the ground when he meowed and stopped in front of her, standing up on the hind legs and opening the front ones.</p><p>Shot in the heart. Like if he wanted to hug her.</p><p>"Go ahead." Alex closed the book and smiled softly at her. "He was looking for you."</p><p>Lena shivered, leaning over. He didn't step back, not for a second. His soft paws touched her arms and she brought him to her chest, the small body nestling over her in a way they never did before, the tension disappearing from her immediately. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hearing the sweet meow in her ear, one last tear sliding down her face. When she opened her eyes again, after an indefinite time, Alex was still smiling at her, brightly, proudly, and it took everything for her to not run and wrap her in a tight hug.</p><p>Her stranger gentle savior.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Alex was surprised that she didn't feel nervous. She didn't feel nervous when Lena smiled the most beautiful smile in the world at her, nor when she realized how much more beautiful Lena looked in sweatpants and pajama shorts. Not even when Lena whispered asking her to stay a little longer.</p><p>She remained on the couch, tasting the whiskey that Lena offered, and silently watched that intriguing woman sitting on the carpet with the one-eyed kitten sleeping on her lap as if he belonged there.</p><p>“Are you going to tell me your story now?" She didn't resist, immediately repenting, squinting at her stupidity.</p><p>Lena, on the other hand, looked at her with extraordinary tenderness.</p><p>"My father passed away a few months ago." She sighed and drank her own whiskey on the coffee table, never ceasing to stroke the cat's fur. "And a friend advised me to get a four-legged companion to... Help." Then she shrugged, looking simple, light, warming the redhead's heart.</p><p>"It worked?" Alex dared one more limit, losing her fear before those bright eyes.</p><p>Lena finally seemed to hesitate, sighing wistfully, gazing at the sleeping kitten on her lap. But there was something about the adorable red-haired vet. There was something about her even before, in front of the animal shelter, on that warm afternoon. And Lena wondered, if she could get to know that creature a little more, she wouldn't realize that there was something about her all the time.</p><p>"Lionel was never a... Regular father." She looked at Alex again. "I was his illegitimate daughter out of marriage and I always had the features of my mother, a constant reminder of the woman he loved and who died when I was four. Even my foster mother could be more loving than he was."</p><p>"I'm so sorry." Alex meant that.</p><p>Lena smiled at her genuinely. "When I look back, I have the impression that the mourning was not for the death, but for the life. Does this make any sense?"</p><p>"It does." She nodded promptly. "I can't say I know how you feel, though. I lost my dad three years ago and he was the best dad in the world. But I can understand what a definite loss is. Things that, good or bad, you can't have back or change the way they were."</p><p>Lena didn't smile anymore and Alex wondered if she said anything wrong. Her lips parted slowly, as if she wanted to respond to the reflection, but she quickly closed it and looked at the redhead as if she were something to be admired. Alex wouldn't know, but that was exactly what Lena thought at that moment.</p><p>"I'm taking you as my savior and my counselor." Suddenly she manifested, blushing. "I'm sorry. You seemed busy."</p><p>"On a bad date." Alex shrugged playfully. "We can say that you saved me too, I think she wanted to escape from there as much as I did." Her grimace made Lena laugh, almost waking the kitten in her lap. "And I would leave anything to help..." She frowned, realizing. "Lena, what's his name?"</p><p>If Lena blushed before, she suddenly pales like a ghost, covering her face with her hands, only then stop petting the cat, muttering to herself as if it were the most embarrassing moment of her life, leaving Alex completely confused on the couch.</p><p>"I..." She swallowed, looking at Alex between her open fingers covering her eyes. "I haven't named him yet."</p><p>She expected a reprimand or a mockery, but Alex broke into that incomprehensible smile, a lovely giggle escaping between her lips. The redhead simply took the last sip of the whiskey and moved to sit on the carpet with her, right in front of her, the approach turning Lena's pallor to reddish again.</p><p>"What do you think he looks like?" She smiled at the little sleeper. "All of my dogs were named after Star Wars characters."</p><p>"Why doesn't this surprise me?" Lena laughed again, delighted.</p><p>"It's true." Alex laughed with her. "Even a tibetan mastiff called Chewbacca."</p><p>Lena's laughter echoed sweetly again and Alex loved the sound.</p><p>"I don't know, Alex..." Lena looked at him again.</p><p>"Odin is a good name. Odin, the one-eyed kitten!"</p><p>It seemed that she had said just to make Lena laugh again, as if she couldn't get tired of hearing it.</p><p>"I had thought of one..."</p><p>"Spill it." Alex encouraged. "The sky is the limit."</p><p>And there was Lena laughing again.</p><p>Lena savored the idea in her mind, stroking the orange fur again, gently tracing the brown streaks. And then she looked back at Alex as if sharing a secret.</p><p>"Tora." She smiled tenderly at the redhead.</p><p>"Tora..." Alex frowned, but smiled at her.</p><p>"It means 'tiger' in japanese." She sighed. "Majestic, fierce and courageous."</p><p>"Like him." Alex added to her, stroking the furry neck on the other side.</p><p>For a moment they remained with the truth echoing through the silence of the apartment, absorbing it. Tora. The Tiger. The majestic feline, the ferocious survivor, the brave one-eyed kitten. Suddenly, at some point of the light caresses on the orange fur, their fingers brushed, making them stop and their eyes met, two bright spots in the darkness, moving away immediately, repelled by a sensation that seemed inexplicably dangerous, perhaps out of place and time.</p><p>Lena was the first to break it. "I'm glad I came to your shelter, Alex Danvers."</p><p>Alex melted and smiled. "I'm glad you came to my shelter, Lena Luthor."</p><p>The clock on the wall behind Lena struck midnight and Alex stood up, helping her to her feet without waking Tora. She walked back and prepared to pick up the jacket, but Lena touched her arm, electricity running under the fabric of the sweater. "It's late. And we had whiskey. You should stay."</p><p>The redhead laughed. "Are you going to let me hit your couch? I would love to, it looks like I was sitting on clouds."</p><p>Lena laughed with her and she realized with herself that she laughed more that night than she had in ages. "You can take my bed with Tora, today he's definitely staying there. Or you can just take the guest room. I promise I'm not a kidnapper."</p><p>"I cannot promise I'm not a thief." Alex teased. "I could easily carry this delicious whiskey in my jacket, it' so fucking good!"</p><p>Damn. If Lena didn't stop laughing, Alex thought she'd might not survive until dawn.</p><p>As if they were close enough and had known each other forever, Lena offered quiet confidence, locking the apartment door, turning off the marble island light in the kitchen and coming back to her with the sweetest smile.</p><p>"There are new pajamas and bedclothes in the wardrobe."</p><p>"I'll manage." Alex shrugged, pretending that she wasn't freaking out inside.</p><p>Pretending was too difficult when Lena smiled again and leaned down to kiss her cheek, her skin reddened instantly, her head spinning and her eyes widening at Lena's still warm and beautiful.</p><p>"Good night, Alex."</p><p>Lena had already closed the master bedroom door when Alex, dazed in the most delightful way in the darkness of the apartment, jacket in her hand, her heart racing, her face burning with the lost touch of her lips, whispered to herself.</p><p>"Good night, Lena."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When Lena lay down on the bed and watched Tora stretching without waking up next to her, she realized what she just did and wondered if she had ruined anything else that night and that it would make the next morning embarrassing, but it was the other way around. She woke up and prepared breakfast with Tora strolling on the marble island stools like Indiana Jones on adventures, and Alex came a few minutes later, relaxed and disheveled, smiling at her.</p><p>They ate and laughed and shared more stories, Alex about the shelter and what it was like to be a vet to deal with worried and exaggerated owners and what it was like growing up in a small town, Midvale, surrounded by dogs, because her father adored them as much as she and her sister, driving her mother crazy every time. And Lena told her a little bit about the only pet she had, an iguana that she and her brother managed to hide in the mansion for almost a year until the housekeeper found out and almost had a heart attack, and also a little more about being CEO of a large company.</p><p>It looked so familiar that Tora himself curled around the redhead's legs until they left the apartment.</p><p>The awkwardness hi when they faced each other on the sidewalk in front of the building, Alex absently swinging the motorcycle keys on her finger and Lena holding Tora tightly in her arms, stroking his fur as he watched around, unconscious with his eye.</p><p>"You're doing fine." Alex suddenly confessed.</p><p>Lena's eyes widened. "What...?"</p><p>"You're doing fine." She repeated, shrugging and smiling, tucking her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. "With Tora."</p><p>Lena realized and hesitated, looking at the little animal leaning against her chest, sighing wistfully. "Sometimes I don't believe it."</p><p>"You are." She reinforced, needing Lena to believe. "Parenthood is not about doing everything right. It's about learning, teaching, adapting and growing. And caring. Mostly caring."</p><p>"Thank you. I don't know what I would do last night without you." Lena was sincere, almost moved again by the memory.</p><p>"Tied, remember?" Alex shrugged again. "You saved me too."</p><p>"I will keep that in my mind." Lena laughed, enjoying how that woman amused her.</p><p>"You take care of yourself and take care of Tora." Finally Alex sighed, knowing that they had to go at some point. "I'll see you around?"</p><p>"I hope so." Lena nodded, unable to not admit it.</p><p>Daring like she did last night, Alex leaned over to kiss her cheek and caress Tora's ear. "Me too." She waved one last time and walked towards the motorcycle. Lena froze, the kiss making her blush, then she watched, puzzled, wondering, feeling more courageous and honest than the afternoon they met at the shelter.</p><p>She looked at Tora, his beautiful green eye fixed on her. "Do you think I should?"</p><p>His response was a disinterested meow, sinking his muzzle into her coat and purring. Lena continued to watch while Alex sat on the motorcycle and responded to a text message, picking up her helmet to go. Again that feeling overflowed, that there was something about the lovely red-haired vet, something that afternoon at the shelter, something when she decided to call her, something about the night and the conversation and the morning. Something wth no name, but so beautiful and tender that she couldn't help herself.</p><p>"Alex!" She called, immediately gaining the attention of the redhead, who was already sitting on the motorcycle with one hand on the keys and the other on the handlebars. The call was enough for her to drop and take off her helmet, holding it under her arm, waiting.</p><p>Lena swallowed, trying to find the right words.</p><p>"What?" Confused by the silence, Alex looked around herself. "There's something on me?"</p><p>She was so damn adorable.</p><p>"I feel guilty. Your date could have turned out to be wonderful, you never know how a disastrous night will end. She could be the love of your life and I ruined it."</p><p>Alex got it. She was smart. And she was delighted.</p><p>"You're right." She nodded, pretending seriousness. "I might die alone because of that."</p><p>"I wouldn't want you to die alone." Lena smiled, as delighted as she was, laughing heartily. "I believe it is my duty to take you out to dinner tonight and entertain you enough to make amends."</p><p>"Dinner." Suddenly the redhead was shy. "Like a date?"</p><p>Lena almost rolled her eyes, but decided to just laugh. "Of course like a date."</p><p>"Right." Alex felt silly, but the happiness of the confirmation made her confident again, nodding profusely. "I'll give you that chance." She winked to signal she was kidding.</p><p>"I'll pick you up." Lena didn't hesitate, winking back.</p><p>"Wow!" Alex put the helmet back on, igniting the motorcycle and stepping to lock the pedal. "A woman never picked me up for a date. Keep it up and you're the one who's going to be the love of my life, Miss Luthor."</p><p>She left behind a cloud of dust and a flushed and stunned Lena Luthor, with a heart racing so wildly that Tora propped up on his paws out of her chest.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena echoed another laugh that tore the night into a million bright stars and Alex thought that sooner or later she would faint under that sound. There weren't many people in the british pub, the beer was cold, the common english dishes were delicious and even the music pleased her. She wondered for a moment if Lena was the kind of woman who frequented that kind  of place or if she had pulled some background to find out exactly where to take her, because she loved it the moment they walked through the door. The wood, the warm lights, the rustic decor, the customer photographs on the walls since the establishment's foundation. It was cozy and calm and in a corner away from downtown.</p><p>She could stay all night at that exact table, with that exact brilliant woman.</p><p>As time went on, they shared more than the morning and last night had allowed. There were countless stories about when Alex moved to National City with her sister, about her passion for surfing and a peculiar one about how she broke a tooth fighting over a limited edition of Mr. Spock figurine from Strar Trek. Lena told her about boarding school, the confusions she got into with Sam in college and one that made Alex melt down imagining a lonely girl getting her first microscope.</p><p>There were also promising ones, about how Alex wanted to try bio-engineering college, which Lena fervently encouraged, and Lena's new projects for the company. There were the anguish ones, about how the Danvers family almost fell apart after Jeremiah's death, and about how Lena couldn't remember what her biological mother looked like.</p><p>Among shared stories, nerdy jokes and endless laughter, it was paradise within a simple british pub.</p><p>At some point during the wonderful night, however, Alex noticed a sudden change in Lena's behavior. She became restless, distant, looking almost distressed and uncomfortable. All the words and gestures since they arrived at the pub have crossed the redhead's mind, but she couldn't remember anything that might have ruined it.</p><p>Wasn't Lena enjoying it? Was she bored or angry? Was she wanting to run away, how did Alex want to do it from the French restaurant?</p><p>It got worse when she started checking the clock behind the bar. Alex convinced herself right there that something was wrong, that Lena didn't want to be there with her.</p><p>She waited for it when Lena looked at her gravely. "Alex..."</p><p>"It's okay." She interrupted, trying to contain the absolute disappointment that washed over her. "You entertained me enough. This was the plan, I just let myself go."</p><p>"Alex, it is not w..."</p><p>"I mean, I thought..." She interrupted again, shaking her head. "Nevermind. It's okay, really. But you are... You know..." She lifted her arms, admiring the place and Lena and her gorgeous emerald dress again, feeling overwhelmed. "We could at least be friends, beca..."</p><p>"I don't want to be your friend." Lena refused almost desperately.</p><p>"Uh, yeah..." Alex felt her stomach turn, feeling completely defeated, preparing to get up and run to the other side of planet Earth. "It's okay too, you k..."</p><p>"Alexandra Danvers!" Lena demanded and grabbed her hand, losing her temper. "Will you stop right now and listen to me?"</p><p>The command slowed the redhead and she fell sitting down, her eyes widening. "How did you know my name is Alexandra?"</p><p>Lena frowned at the change. "My brother's name is Alexander, I just assumed..." Then she clicked her tongue and shook her head, realizing the pointless explanation. "Please, stop and listen to me."</p><p>"Right." Alex nodded nervously.</p><p>Lena took a deep breath, trying to avoid Alex's curious and docile eyes, feeling strangely ashamed. Alex waited patiently, confused and cursing herself for losing so easily. Lena hadn't let her hand go and she gently stroked her thumb, a silent apology and an encouragement for her to say what was on her mind.</p><p>"I haven't had a night out since I adopted Tora."</p><p>It was almost a whisper, but it hit Alex right on target. She understood, of course she did. Lena asked her, she wanted to be there, but she was overflowing with concern for little Tora alone for the first night in the apartment.</p><p>She cursed herself again, looking down at their intertwined hands, feeling stupid, still caressing her with her thumb, sighing audibly. Without another word, she waved the waiter to ask for the check. Maybe Lena got it wrong, because suddenly she looked even more embarrassed and slightly disappointed.</p><p>Their hands remained intertwined and Alex had no intention of letting go.</p><p>Outside the pub, Alex helped her put on her coat and they walked towards Lena's black bentley, the sharp silence separating them many inches more than the redhead would like. She thought about giving her space and ask her to leave her at the shelter, but she knew she had to take the risk.</p><p>"I know you promised to entertain me, and you did it." She boldly took Lena's hand again, which had been lost while they put their coats back on the sidewalk. "But you know, technically I ran to save Tora, not you. I think it's only right that he entertains me too." She smiled mischievously, hoping it would do the trick.</p><p>What she didn't expect, however, was to see Lena exhale in relief and throw her arms around her neck, tightening their bodies, sinking her face into her chest under her chin and abandoning time right there.</p><p> </p><p>There was music in the bright apartment and the leather jacket and velvet coat swayed on the rack with the wind that invaded through the open balcony door. Alex was sitting on the couch, playing intently with the ball of wool that Tora was trying to steal from her hands with his little paws. Lena watched them from the kitchen, pouring ice and whiskey into two glasses, warmed by the redhead's laughter and the cat's adorable meows.</p><p>When she put the bottle back in the cellar and approached to pick up the glasses, she saw the thread of the ball tangled in Alex fingers and Tora on the arm of the couch pulling the rest with him and again that feeling burst: Something about her, Alexandra Danvers, was messing with her heart without permission.</p><p>She forgot the glasses and walked to the living room, Alex's head lying on the back of the couch while Tora curled himself in the ball and she whimpered her defeat.</p><p>Lena crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Entertained enough?"</p><p>Alex opened her eyes, defiant and captivated, smiling mischievously, the opposite angle making them laugh. But then she became serious, whispering. "I think I'm getting there."</p><p>Lena interpreted it in a second of dense silence and sighed. She leaned over and stroked the strands of red hair, then her ears exposed, slowly bending over to hold her jaw, firmly, determinedly. She anticipated and Alex's face shuddered, her eyes closing again in anticipation.</p><p>Lena's lips were almost on hers when the high-pitched sound echoed and startled them.</p><p>Tora had abandoned the ball of wool and leapt over them, making Alex slide alarmed on the couch, losing Lena's touch, and Lena's eyes widened when the cat climbed up to fall into her arms, his head turning to growl at the redhead. The first moment was one of disbelief, Alex disheveled looking from Lena to the cat and back and Lena imitating the confused movement, until he finally stopped and remained on Lena with his eye open and his mustaches bristling.</p><p>The silence didn't last. Suddenly they were laughing, fascinated and astonished, Alex rising from the couch breathlessly and straightening her clothes and Lena welcoming the cat and shaking her head in disbelief.</p><p>"Tora..." She laughed, holding him in her hands to face him. "Tora, are you jealous of Alex?"</p><p>Tora meowed at her and Alex watched the conversation still euphoric, laughing with fright. They didn't see it coming and suddenly it was hilarious, the unexpected attack and defense, the cat jumping over to Lena to keep them apart.</p><p>"Okay... That was awesome!" Alex couldn't resist fangirling about his behavior.</p><p>Lena smiled softly at her and started walking slowly around, bringing him to lie on her chest, as if there were only the two of them there. And Alex, surprised again, stopped laughing as soon as her voice resonated.</p><p>"I know you must be worried and feeling threatened, perhaps overwhelmed by so many changes. You were damaged and I understand, because I know damage too. But the day I adopted you was one of the happiest in my life and I'm not going anywhere. You are my soulmate now, don't you know that already?"</p><p>Alex has seen many people's devotion to animals. She herself maintained this affection as her duty and predilection for a long time. But it captivated her in such an absolute way that it burned inside her heart.</p><p>"And do you know who put you in my path?" Lena turned and looked at Alex on the other side of the couch, smiling at her and then at the cat who was watching her intently with his bright eye. "You are absolutely right, little one. This was Alexandra Danvers. And today I realized that I might like her. I think she likes me too. She told me that the day we met."</p><p>It sent Alex's sanity into oblivion. All she wanted to do was run and pull herself to her and kiss her with Tora complaining in their midst until Lena had to remind her that her name was Alexandra because her mind would collapse completely.</p><p>Lena laughed at Alex's dumb expression and held Tora again at her eyes, his paw touching her nose as if he were trying to communicate.</p><p>"So I need you to let me kiss her, because in addition to despairing of seeing you scratch my opera records in the most adorable way possible, there is nothing I desire more than to do this now." She turned her head to Alex and, curiously, Tora followed the movement. "I need to kiss that woman right there in the middle of our living room."</p><p>He meowed softly and squirmed to escape her hands, leaping deftly onto the couch, then to the coffee table, and finally landing on the carpet, his tail dancing from left to right and back, sitting in the way to lick his paw.</p><p>"I promise I have the best of intentions, good sir." Alex bowed to him, making Lena laugh heartily once again.</p><p>"Well, now you have Tora's blessing, Miss Danvers." Lena paraded gracefully up to her, her arms in an elegant movement of surrender. "I'm afraid you will have to kiss me."</p><p>"You sure?" Alex swallowed, looking sideways at the watchful kitten.</p><p>"Positive." Lena nodded. "You should do it before he changes his mind."</p><p>"But he can attack me." Alex looked concerned, narrowing her eyes. "He looks very dangerous."</p><p>Lena sighed, feigning disappointment. "And here I was thinking you were like Tora, a fearless tiger..." She pouted, teasing, walking away from Alex, the emerald dress waved in her curves when she turned.</p><p>"Hey, wait!" Alex laughed and ran to her, pulling her around the waist, their bodies colliding in the middle of the living room and Lena's delicious laughter echoing like music in her ears. Lena's hands landed on her chest, a finger gently tracing her collarbone protruding under the cramped sweater. "Come here..."</p><p>The laughter stopped as quickly as it came and Alex cut the joke off, holding her close, arms around her waist, the shared heat burning inside them both.</p><p>Alex leaned back on her foreheads, eyes on Lena's red, parted lips, arguing again. "I always thought I was more like a dog. My sister is the same, she's like the personification of a golden retriever." She laughed one last time, moving a few inches away to meet the green eyes on hers, Lena still serious, breathing almost weakly. "But I can be a tiger. I can be anything you want."</p><p>Lena held her jaw with one hand and the back of her neck with the other, too close, feeling sweetly lethargic and vibrantly ravishing in Alex's arms. She sank her fingers into her red hair and whispered feverishly. "Be a tiger."</p><p>Alex leaned over to kiss her urgently right after, lips open demanding and the gasps, ecstatic with the fulfillment of the desire, being swallowed and silenced, Lena's teeth biting and pulling the lower and Alex delirious with the slight burning, pushing with her for them to fall on the couch and she slide her mouth on her flexed jaw while Lena exhaled completely out of breath straddling her lap.</p><p>And Tora, meowing discontented and disinterested, just walked gracefully to the balcony, jumping on the ledge to observe the city through the protection net and never knowing that he was responsible for bringing them together.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for getting here, it means everything to me.</p><p>See you guys soon!</p><p>Find me on twitter: @dokkstormur</p></blockquote></div></div>
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